ryanb

I can't imagine why you would want to put green over cocobolo (I like the green, but not in this case). I don't think you would get good results with green (or most any other color) over cocobolo anyway. The wood has a lot of natural oil in it that creates problems with a lot of finishes. You need to start by using acetone (or maybe naptha) to wipe down the wood and remove the surface oil before trying to put a finish on it. If you let it sit long, more oil will leech out and the surface will get oily again. A straight oil finish will probably work well as long as you don't try to cover it with anything. It may take a long time to cure hard. Otherwise, stay completely away from anything oil-based, as it just adds to the problem. Something like polyurethane can harden on the surface, trapping oil underneath. The result is soft, and is likely to come off in sheets later. The best results I have heard of are based on alcohol-based products. If you want to do staining, I would try alcohol-based dyes. Shellac ought to work pretty well, and may be a good enough sealer to then cover with another finish. Strangely enough, one product that does work really well on cocobolo is the water-based Polycrylic product. However, I'm not sure I would use that for a guitar finish. (I have used this on cocobolo for other things, but not a guitar body). The 2-part urethanes might work, but I can't spray them, so I don't know. Note that it depends a lot on your piece of wood too. Some cocobolo can be finished with no problems or special techniques. Other pieces are so full of oil you can't do anything but make a mess. All you can do is try some tests and see what works for you. Good luck.

Sounds to me like the coats were just to heavy. I haven't used that particular product, but I thought these ridiculously long curing times were the classic result of too heavy coats with those water-base finishes (or not waiting the right amount of time between coats). It may take many months to fully cure, if it ever does.

A one piece body is more important when using a transparent finish and no decorative top, where the joints and grain differences are visible. With a solid finish, there's not much reason not to save some money using two or three pieces, which is often more stable anyway.

I couldn't agree more. If you are going to do much of this kind of work, you will quickly find that you absolutely must have a good dust collector -- regardless of where your shop is located. You will have dust all over the basement all of the time, no matter how hard you try, but it isn't really a problem for the rest of the house as long as you don't have air return inlets in the basement. Noise would be a bigger problem if that is objectionable to others in your house. Short of a dedicated building, a basement shop is about as good as it gets.

Craig, Thanks for the glue tip, and BTW that is some awesome stuff on your web site. Nice work.

Superglue works fine on shell, or metal if you scuff it up with sandpaper first. Check auto parts stores for the 3M adhesives. Many of them are sold as trim adhesives and things like that.

You can use a mixture of glue (wood, ca, epoxy) and sawdust. But are you sure the slots are crooked or is it just the fretwire? The wire can be put into a straight slot crooked.

The only reason the number of frets is there is that it controls the number of fret positions it reports. If you ask for 22 frets, it gives you measurements for 22 frets. You could always ask for more frets and ignore the higher ones. I guess they just do this so people don't have to print out more than they need ... not a big deal. The calculator is very accurate. The dimension for bridge position is taking into account an adjustment for the distance between the saddle points and the posts. I haven't used a T.O.M., but I would be confident in the numbers. However, you should still always verify the measurements. Measure the bridge, and see if the saddles will end up in the correct position using the dimension from the calculator.

Yeah, good point. When he said 15A, I assumed he meant at 110V. But i've never seen a Craftsman that had that big of a motor on it. The 6HP compressors are really 2HP (or less) compressors. But it will probably still pop a 15A breaker on startup ... so find a 20A circuit.

For 15 amps, you need a minimum of 14 gauge wire. If you plug it into a 15 amp circuit, you will likely pop breakers often, so I would suggest using a 20 amp circuit if possible. As for rewiring the motor, it all depends on the motor and wiring you have. Many newer (especially consumer-oriented) models are set up so that all you have to do is literally change the plug, and not do anything to the motor wiring. Others absolutely do have to have the wiring changed. You need to find the manual for this compressor -- it will tell you exactly what you need to do, and will include the wiring schematics. You should be able to find the manual on the web site if you don't have it. Otherwise, get your friend to take a look.

Maybe try using some "blush eraser", which is just a nitro solvent that will help re-melt the layers together.

Absolutely not! That is a very, very, very bad idea. It will never dry. It will smell bad. It will probably discolor, and definitely ruin your guitar. Not to mention that it is a carcinogen. There are plenty of good oil finishes around, but transmission oil is not one of them.

If that is the correct model, it clearly was originally a 110V model. Most likely it was converted to 220V (I think most of the Craftsman models can be rewired), which would mean you could easily switch it back. But if the motor was switched as well, you wouldn't necessarily be able to convert back. Craftsman in particular really inflates the CFM and HP statistics. Figure out what CFM you need for your spray gun, and make sure your compressor has a good amount of headroom in its rated value. That compressor is probably more than enough for your needs, but I have found that I always wished I had more CFM than i have. This is one case where bigger is better ... but it all really depends on how big and efficient your gun is, and how often you are willing to pause your working to wait for the tank to fill up. You might see if you can try out that compressor first. Take the gun you want to use, and spray some water or thinner for a while as a test. If the motor has to run contuinuously to keep up (or still isn't keeping up), you need a bigger compressor.

You don't need a plane to get to Canada. They can't do ground shipping to Canada? You are talking about CA glues, aka superglue. You should be able to get that at any hardware or similar store. You could also use titebond, hide glue, etc ... any of which should be readily available locally. Of course, you should be able to do the job with no glue at all too ...

The inserts are designed to screw into the wood, that is what the external thread is for. They come in coarse thread (as shown in the picture) for soft woods and fine thread for putting into hardwoods. You have to be really careful putting them in though. (Forget trying to put the coarse thread ones into hardwood.) The hole must be drilled just the right size. Too small and the wood will split, too large and the threads will strip out. If the wood is really hard, it is basically impossible to get them to thread in ... they threads tend to just strip and tear the wood out when you are trying to get them started. It is also difficult to get them inserted really straight (harder than you would think). From my experience, I would stay away from those. There are other kinds of inserts, such as variations on the Tee-nut theme that would probably work a lot better if you figure out a good way to install them. BTW, a #10 would be a good size if you decide to try them.

Being that you are in Chicago, I would strongly consider the basement route, unless that garage is climate controlled, or you only want to work during part of the year. There are disadvantages either way. My shop is in the basement, and I find it much better there than in the garage.

My shop is in my basement, and I have moved way too much stuff in and out of there over the years -- tools, projects, etc. I have used appliance trucks, dollies, ramps, hoists, cable winches, way too many favors from (former) friends, etc. -- whatever works and pretty much anything you could think of. Fortunately most of the really big heavy tools were going down. I don't want to move those again. When they have to come out, I am paying some refridgerator-sized movers to do that stuff. Life is just too short to do it any other way. A forklift sure would be useful around here, though.

I do think you would be better off with a 110V compressor. But, since you mentioned it was a Craftsman, I wonder if it really is a 6HP motor. Craftsman advertises many compressors that are 6HP PEAK / 2HP continuous compressors, which are a far cry from a real 6HP compressor. Also, most Craftsman compressors can be rewired for 220V operation, though a 50 or 60 amp plug would be way overkill. But it sounds like you already have the information you need.

What unclej is talking about is creating a compound radius fretboard (at least partially). Creating a cone shape instead of a simple cylinder will prevent this fretting out problem. It should be relatively easy and inexpensive to flatten out the radius a bit on the upper frets so that you can keep the low action you want.

The ZR is a great trem. The only real problem with the ZR is that the arm holder loosens up with time and use, and has to be periodically retightened, or have the bushing replaced. Any of the Edge, Lo-Pro Edge, Edge Pro, or ZR trems are great trems. Avoid the TRS, TRS-II, Edge Pro II/III, Lo-TRS, etc. which are the low-cost versions of the better trems used on the low-end guitars. Generally, the 400/500 level and better S series and RG series guitars will have the good trems, while the cheaper guitars have the cheap trems. Don't plan to buy a cheap guitar and swap out the bridge. Many of those "upgrades" cannot be performed without significant modifications/routing. You will end up paying more in the long run than finding something used with the right hardware.

Most of this has already be said here. I have about 7 routers in my collection. The 3+ HP monsters are great for doing heavy cutting in a good table, but they are miserable to use handheld. They are too heavy to control on delicate work, and you don't need that kind of power for any handheld cutting (or else you are cutting too much at once). Something like the 1-3/4 HP Porter-Cable is a much more versatile and useable choice to start out with. When you are ready to progress on, you can spend the big money for the big motor and a fancy table lift mechanism ... and maybe add a trim router for the smaller work. A high-quality, mid-size router (PC, Bosch, DeWalt, etc.), preferably with both fixed and plunge bases, is the real workhorse.

Had an electrician friend of the family do mine so I dont know. Its not a big job, about an hours work. But yes 220 WILL kill you. ← So will 110 ;-) Aren't 110 sockets generally more dangerous because of the greater amount of current flowing through them? That's the danger, really, not so much the voltage. ← No. 110 sockets are not more dangerous. Yes the current is what will kill or hurt you. A couple dozen milliamps across your heart is enough to stop it (you don't want the current going in one arm, across your heart, and out the other arm ... be very mindful of where both hands are, and simply never work with the power on). The difference in current flow between the 110V circuit and the 220V circuit is not important here. What matters is how much current flows into your body when you stick your finger in the wrong spot. That is determined by the resistance of your body and is close enough to a dead short for purposes here. In either case you will get enough current to throw you across the room, and certainly does have the potential to kill you. If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it. 33 gallon is a pretty small tank for a 6HP compressor. Those big dryer plugs are 50 or 60 amp rated plugs, which should be a lot excessive for that compressor. You need to know haw many amps this thing will really draw, and be sure that your panel can handle it. Newer services are probably OK, but 50 amps is a pretty big hit for a lot of older panels. You need to know that your existing panel is sized to handle the load, and make sure that the wiring to the compressor is sized correctly for the load ... like 6 gauge for 50 amp. If the panel can't handle the load, you would need to upgrade the electrical service (lots of money, i've done it). Do not screw around with gadgets to cobble this thing onto existing 110 outlets. It will be cheaper and safer to do it the right way in the first place. Overall though it sounds like you should just find a 110V compressor. There are tons of them out there and they can be found fairly cheap ... certainly less than what you will end up spending by the time you have the 220V one up and running. Good luck.

Dan Erlewine talks about Gibson using that very technique on one of his Stew-Mac DVDs. I have never tried it and probably never would. Seems to me that if the saddle is that soft, I don't really want it on my bridge. But aparently this method has been done.

Yes. At least in my area, they are in pretty much any hardware or tool store and they are only a few bucks each. I wouldn't mess around with making something. The long brad-point bits are nice, too.

You need to be sure that the topcoat you use is compatible with the paint used for the graphics. Check with the graphic artist first to make sure you won't have any suprises later. And get a good buildup of clear before you do any sanding, or you will seriously risk sanding through and getting into the graphics (practice first). Good luck.